The further I get into this year, the more bittersweet I feel. Most of the time I'm on autopilot trying to get my work done and recruit participants for my dissertation study but every now and then, something will hit me and I get particularly struck with the fact that this is genuinely my final year as an undergraduate. 

Realistically, this was probably the last Bridge of Allan display I'll ever attend... which is a pretty jarring thought. A thought that if I dwell on long enough will, without fail, turn me into a panicked, spiralling mess of a human, spending the remainder of the day job hunting for positions and graduate schemes I can't yet apply for.

So let's not do that.

This was my third time attending the display in Strathallan Park (you'll remember my post from 2013) as I missed the last one due to my semester abroad. It definitely wasn't as cold as I remembered but maybe I've finally acclimated to the Scottish weather. Or maybe getting as close as possible to the perimeter around the bonfire was a smart idea.

As always, I took way too many photos in a very short space of time but some of them turned out nicely.

With the display over, we all filtered out of the park. On the walk back to campus with the masses of families and students who had come to see the show, I was left to mentally cross off another notable event from my final year. Gulp.

Long time, no post! I feel I've been neglecting the blog lately but it's only because I've been so busy and tied down to my course. Fourth years (apparently) don't have the time to go gallivanting off into the wilds of Scotland and instead have to be good little students and stay on campus managing a triple-weighted module (gulp).

That said, I can't complain. My wide windowsill in my palace of a room is home to my succulents and orchid as well as my little souvenirs from Bali, Tanzania, and Western Canada to remind me of all the travelling I did last year. Four separate continents in one year is an incredible feat.

A significant portion of my time is spent preparing for and carrying out my dissertation research. Psychology students get to produce their own original research in fourth year and I'm very pleased to be able to say I am working in the area of evolutionary psychology, something I find unendingly interesting, and on a project that should hopefully produce some significant results (I promise I will talk about it later!). 

I also got to help out with the Science Grrl fair that was hosted by the university. The reason this was monumental and worthy of mentioning on my blog is not in fact because I inspired the next generation of female scientists but because after we were packing everything up, I was able to try out the Psychology department's Oculus Rift set up. And oh man, was it fun! It's still very much in the beginning stages of its applications and graphics but I seriously cannot wait to see what the future will bring for VR. Partly due to the gaming possibilities but mostly due to the psychological significance.

When I'm not hounding people to participate in my study, I'm at yoga classes. I rejoined the gym this semester with an eye to get back on the elliptical (because I wouldn't have made it up Kilimanjaro without that beautiful machine, it really deserves more love) and tried out the inclusive yoga and pilates classes as well. I enjoy pilates a lot and had tried it before but it was my first time doing yoga and I absolutely fell in love. I already know my new year's resolution: to keep practicing until I can do a full backbend!

With the end of October comes Halloween of course. We got some pretty successful pumpkin carving done in our flat...

I spotted a gorgeous and suitably dramatic sunset from our floor...

And I made a very good vampire if I do say so myself! Please excuse the terrible Snapchat-quality but I had to show off my contact lenses! They worked so well!

Anyway, I am truly very sorry for the radio silence! Fingers crossed I get a bit of travelling in here and there but in the meantime you can find me on an assortment of social media. I do have some more local posts planned for November so watch this space!

On the cusp of catching what may be my last round of freshers flu, I can now greet you as an aged fourth year. A large portion of my time this semester is spent preparing for my final year research project/dissertation. I'm so, so, SO excited to be researching in such an interesting area of psychology... but the details will have to wait for another post when I'm able to give more information away without compromising the results...

I'm living back on campus again this year in an astonishingly gorgeous en-suite room in the new halls. I've got a beautiful view overlooking the Hermitage Woods towards the back of campus which is going to look amazing when autumn really takes over. 

On one of my less busy days, I decided to make the most of the unseasonably good weather Scotland was having and take my camera for a walk into the woods.  

One way or another, Scotland has been having a lot of blue skies for September. I'm sure this post will jinx it but it's been very refreshing after a comparably damp summer in London. As this semester ramps up with work, I won't have much free time to go gallivanting into nature (nor will I be able to if the reports about this coming winter are to be believed!), so it's been nice to seize the opportunity while I can.

Mainly, I was letting my 50mm lens have a bit of an outing. It's rarely my go-to lens due to my SLR's cropped sensor, meaning I can rarely get wide enough for my subject when it's attached.  

Contrasting with that, I do love using prime lenses quite simply for the fact that it forces you to think about framing a lot more. When (and only when) time is on your side and you're able to play about with angles and focus, you can get pretty creative. 

The low F stop capability also doubles up as a pretty nice macro too, allowing for a lot of bokeh...

These pictures makes it look like a tranquil woodland. For the most part it is, although I was also almost run over by a mountain biking group who were taking the slopes a little too fast.

I found a fantastic opening in the trees where I could spy both the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle. The skies here reminded me a lot of my trip up Mount Douglas back in Victoria, which is pretty appropriate as it was around this time of year when I made that trip as well. 

I descended from the hilly forest thinking that was all the hiking I'd be doing both that day and that week but two bonfires had been organised at the viewpoint/Witches Craig half way up Dumyat hill itself. The view in and of itself from there is incredible but the route up is certainly tricky and steep in places. Despite the fact I've done the walk more times than I can count, it was a little daunting to realise that, once we had the fire going, we'd be going down in the dark!

It was definitely worth it for the view of Stirling and its surrounding towns and villages. Of all the areas of photography, I find night photography the most difficult. It's an area I really ought to focus on (particularly now I have a lens that can cope with low light!) but I'm pretty pleased with how this misty shot has turned out.